University of Illinois Jazz Band

Saturday, November 3, 2114

Welcome! This blog is part of a continuing effort to document the first 30 years or so of the University of Illinois Jazz Band, under the direction of John Garvey from 1959-1991.

The bulk of press clippings you'll find at this time were culled from the Daily Illini via the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections, curated by the University of Illinois University Library. I am indebted both to the DI for its robust coverage of jazz on campus for many years, and to the Library for making its digital collection available to the public. Without these two resources, documenting the various musical adventures of this group would have been far more difficult (and less interesting).

Sadly, the IDNC archive of the Daily Illini only extends through 1975 as of this writing, so documenting the last 15 or so years of Garvey's tenure with the band will be a difficult, ongoing process.

While I have strived to be as complete as possible, please view this as a work in progress. If you were connected to the band in some way and wish to add or correct details, please feel free to contact me. Pictures, programs, clippings are especially appreciated!